The company plans to launch a more affordable model called Nice 100 EV in October with a starting price of NT$29,800, targeting female riders, Kwang Yang said.

The company said it plans to offer various charging options to compete with its local rival, Gogoro, which built the world’s first battery-swapping network for its electric scooters.

Since 2015, about 60,000 Gogoro owners have swapped a total of 10 million batteries, Gogoro data showed.

Gogoro, the nation’s biggest electric-scooter supplier, last year sold more than 34,000 electric scooters, accounting for about 80 percent of the local market, industry statistics showed.

Ionex owners would be able to recharge their batteries at home-charging stations or swap them for fully charged batteries at a battery-swapping station, Kwang Yang said.

Customers would not have to buy batteries, as the company would offer battery-leasing services to people who want to charge their batteries at home or at charging stations on a contract basis, it said.

Riders would be required to pay a monthly fee of NT$299 for 1,000km, the company added.